Trends in Hiring College Students and Recent Graduates
Today’s talent pool of college students and recent grads is more resourceful, strategic, and determined than ever to find the best fit in launching their career. They are sophisticated in their job search, utilizing technology and information to target companies like yours. These findings are reported in AfterCollege.com’s annual student insight survey, 2011 Entry-Level Job Search Report: Insights on Recruiting the Next Generation of Talent.
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Responses were collected March to April 2011 from 1,450 college students and recent graduates. The survey was promoted over a four-week period in AfterCollege Career Network Digests. Since the first report in 2009, AfterCollege has uncovered a number of trends that are important in differentiating successful college recruiting strategies.
These findings can benefit employers and branding specialists interested in attracting, recruiting, and engaging with college students and recent grads by understanding how college students perceive different companies, what they look for when researching companies and how their job search tactics are continually changing to seek out the best opportunities. Here are some highlights.
The full report can be downloaded here.
Job Search Difficulty: Market Slowly Improving
The unpredictable economy has remained a force to be reckoned with, but job seekers are a bit more bullish about this year’s prospects. Approximately 78 percent of respondents said they found the job search process to be difficult or very difficult, a decrease of seven percent from last year.
Preferred Job Search Methods – What Works
About 22 percent of job seekers reported they had a moderate or easy time finding a job, a seven percent increase from last year. AfterCollege dug deeper to uncover the preferred method of job searching and found that almost 67 percent of respondents selected job boards as their number one tool, an increase of almost two percent from last year. A close second, coming in at 64 percent, was applying directly to the company or organization.
The Role of Faculty and Teachers
Especially pertinent for the college space, almost 44 percent of respondents said they turn to professors, teachers, or deans for job leads, a 13 percent jump from last year. AfterCollege continues to emphasize this important and still underutilized channel as an effective method of finding top entry-level candidates.
The Role of Social Media
It comes as no surprise that social media continues to climb in job search popularity, but growth might not be as big as expected. Nearly 22 percent of respondents said social media was an effective method of job searching, compared to 16 percent from last year. Despite the increase, job seekers still seem to prefer social media for communicating with friends and not for finding jobs.
AfterCollege invites you to view the complete findings of their survey: 2011 Entry-Level Job Search Report: Insights on Recuriting the Next Generation of Talent.
About Roberto Angulo
Roberto Angulo is CEO and co-founder of AfterCollege.com, the largest professional network for college students and recent grads looking for entry-level jobs and internships. AfterCollege reaches 2,800,000 college students and grads and works with over 16,000 academic departments and student groups at 2,300+ colleges and universities. Roberto is a frequent speaker on topics relating to online recruiting, especially as it pertains to Gen Y and college students.
Roberto started AfterCollege in 1999 after graduating from Stanford University. He is currently responsible for the day to day operations of AfterCollege and sets strategy for the company.
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